This invention relates to electro-optics and more particularly to a forward looking infrared (FLIR) device.
In the past FLIR devices have had applications limited by size, weight, and cost constraints. The size has been determined by an infrared energy focusing optics, scanner, and the detector array required for converting infrared energy emanating from a scene into electrical signals representative of the scene; the cooler (refrigerator or DEWAR) for cooling the detector array to its operating temperature; and the preamplifiers and post amplifiers for driving either a scanned light emitting diode (LED) array that is viewed by a television (TV) camera or digital circuits or digitally manipulating the signals to form TV compatable single line video. Many of these components including the number thereof make the system bulky and heavy. Also because of the component size, the component connections complicate the structure and its fabrication; e.g., the detector array is mounted in a vacuum module mounted on the end of a refrigerator's cold finger and over a hundred leads must pass through the vacuum module for connection to the array of preamplifiers while maintaining a vacuum in the vacuum module. Further, the required power supply for the required electronics contibutes substantially to the weight and size of the FLIR device. All these factors detrimentally contribute to the reliability, efficiency, size, weight and cost of the system of which the size, weight and cost all but preclude use in manportable systems and small aircraft.